Many manufacturers are facing a severe gap between the talent they need and what is actually available on the labour market. It is expected that this talent gap will only increase in the near future.
Industry Challenges
The main training problem in the manufacturing industry is that most employers are looking for multi-skilled employees who can perform a range of tasks, while many manufacturing workers are unskilled or have only been trained to perform a single job function.
One possible solution to this problem is the adoption of a training and development strategy that teaches unskilled employees the skills they need to help propel the organisation forward while at the same time allowing employees to move their career forward. This should help boost the manufacturer’s productivity, decrease employee turnover and possibly solve the talent gap. However, in-house training comes with a number of challenges.
High Cost
Depending on the skills that are needed, manufacturing industry training can be very expensive. It can take a long time and the extensive involvement of trainers and supervisors to teach employees the necessary skills and processes for a manufacturing job.
To keep training costs down it is a good idea to provide at least part of your employee training as an elearning course. eLearning note only provides a more cost-effective alternative to classroom training due to reduced travel and trainer costs, it also much more flexible, enabling study out of working hours and regular updates to course content based on new systems, industry guidelines or legislation.
Of course, some skills are very difficult to teach through an online course, which is why blended learning (elearning combined with on-the-job coaching and instructor-led training) is often the way to go for manufacturing training.
Employee Turnover
High staff turnover can be very costly, especially when a lot of time and money has been invested in employee training. Therefore, it is important that the best performing workers are identified, rewarded for their performance and provided the necessary support and CPD (continuing professional development) to move their career forward. This will help increase the retention rate of key employees.
It is also important that specific process knowledge is never retained by just one employee. Knowledge transfer from an employee to the organisation as a whole (in the form of training course development or social learning) needs to occur often in order to avoid a brain drain resulting from employee turnover.
When setting up an employee training strategy for your manufacturing organisation, you should team up with a training expert that has a proven track record in the manufacturing sector.
Below you will find several training and learning providers that are experienced in developing and implementing manufacturing industry training programmes.
US Manufacturing Training Provider – Train Smart Inc
Manufacturing training expert, Train Smart Inc, provides tailored manufacturing learning solutions that can include instructor-led training, one-on-one coaching and elearning. They can help evaluate training needs and recommend solutions, develop custom training programs, deliver them to your employees, and follow up on the effectiveness of the training.
Training topics that Train Smart Inc has extensive expertise in include:
- Project Management
- Time Management
- Leadership Training
- Strategic Planning
- Lean Manufacturing Principles
Find out more at http://www.trainsmartinc.com/about-us/industries/manufacturing/.
eLearning Content Development – City & Guilds Kineo
If your manufacturing organisation’s learning needs can’t be met with ready-made elearning courses, you may need to invest in custom content development. A well-developed elearning course that incorporates interactive elements, multimedia and real-life work scenarios can be much more effective than an off-the-shelf solution that contains content that is completely irrelevant for your workers.
City & Guilds Kineo is an elearning company that offers bespoke training content solutions across numerous industries, with impressive case studies within manufacturing and many other sectors.
More information can be found at www.kineo.com.
Several examples of their work can be found on the eLearning Case Studies website.
Online course provider – Amatrol
Amatrol is a manufacturing training solution expert that offers a large number of technical elearning courses for both the educational sector and the manufacturing industry. Course topics include:
- Power and energy
- Manufacturing processes
- Fluid power
- Electrical motors
- Mechatronics
- Design
- And much more.
Find out more at https://amatrol.com/about-us/.
We have also curated a number of high-quality, yet low-cost elearning courses. You can find many in areas relevant to the manufacturing industry, such as health and safety training, over at e-Learning Centre.
Manufacturing LMS Provider – NetDimensions Learning
The NetDimensions award winning learning management system offers a very robust elearning platform for manufacturing organisations. The LMS provides learners a personalised learning experience that includes social collaboration and integration with career planning. It has a very user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate and can be accessed from any internet-connected device. The platform also has extensive reporting functionalities and is easy to configure.
NetDimensions Learning is part of the NetDimensions Talent Suite, which is a talent management system that is designed to help organisations increase productivity, reduce turnover, decrease expenses and foster innovation.
More information about the NetDimensions LMS can be found on the PeopleFluent website as it’s now part of their family of solutions.
You can find more information about the use of the NetDimensions LMS in the manufacturing industry at
https://www.peoplefluent.com/industry/manufacturing.
eLearning Consultancy from Learning Light
Are you looking to start your journey in elearning or enhance your existing processes, technologies or content?
Learning Light have decades of combined experience in supporting organisations of all sizes and across most industries. Please give us a call on 0114 307 2357 for a no-obligations discussion of your requirements.
Other manufacturing websites and resources
http://www.themanufacturinginstitute.org/~/media/827DBC76533942679A15EF7067A704CD.ashx
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Av Srivastava
eLearning Marketing Consultant
About Av
Av Srivastava is an elearning writer and marketing consultant who has worked with a range of learning solution providers in the UK and worldwide.
He researches and writes about the latest and best elearning solutions to help buyers choose the ideal company for their needs.
He also helps great elearning companies to understand their perfect customers, get the visibility they deserve, and develop steady streams of inbound enquiries.
